7 posts in this topic

MariosX 26

I own an ASUS WL-500gP and a common problem with these routers it is it's power supply dies and my mine just died out a well and I need to replace it with another but I don't know anything about how electricity works and I thought I would ask around here.

I'm thinking of purchasing a 5V 4A Power supply unit for WL-500gP because I want to fully use it's USB ports and because in the past my 2.5 HDD was malfuctioning, I think it's wasn't provided with enough electricity to function properly.

However, because I know nothing about electricity will the router blow up or stop working if I purchase the power supply I mentioned?

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exotoxic 286

I am no electrical expert but The router says it is 5V @ 2A max so the 5v @ 4A is perfectly fine. You need to check the polarity (which way round the + and - connections are) is correct though, there is usually a diagram on the adapter.

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Gerowen 959

Again, not an expert here, but from my basic understanding based on what I've learned working on CB radios, effectively amps are pulled, volts are pushed. If something runs on 5V 2A, you could run it on 5V 20A and it would still work just fine. The device will only draw as many amps as it needs and the rest will just be excess that never gets used. My CB radio draws 2 amps, but runs off a 12 amp DC power supply. You just don't want to under or over volt something by too much.

Now I have noticed one thing though about amps. I plugged a 9V 2A power cord into a GMRS radio base charger that only was marked for 9V 300 mA, and it got HOT, I mean really hot. It worked just fine, but surprisingly it worked just as well and stayed cool when I plugged in a 13.8V power cord that was only rated for 500 mA.

Being 2A over the labeled requirement shouldn't cause any issues I wouldn't think. If you're really concerned, just call the manufacturer and see if you can order one straight from them.

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68k 290

^ Don't buy cheap plug packs from China (you get what you pay for). Plug packs that are only a few dollars will be 'noisy' (have poor regulation due to design shortcuts) and possibly damage your router.

I'm guessing 'AC Input: 110V-240V (50-60Hz)' and 'DC Output: 5V @ 2A/2000mA' are printed on your router's power supply at present (based on the unit's specs on the Asus website).

- amps/current would be the rate of flow (depends on supply demand and resistances [which could include the diameter of the pipe itself)

Basically, your router requires a 5V plug pack (another name for a power supply) - it can't be any other voltage. A lower of higher voltage would affect the 'electrical pressure' (again in terms of water flow, putting '12V' of water through a pipe (your router) designed for '5V' would cause it to 'burst').

Current is different. It's varies based on demand. Your router's specs state that it may consume up to 2A, so you will need a 5V plug pack capable of providing at least 2A.

A 5V 3A (or even 10A) plug pack will work, however I actually doubt you'll get extra current through the USB ports as they'd most likely be internally fused (if the router has been designed to standards) and not allow more than 500mA through each port (router electronics would use about 1A). That's probably why the hard drive was 'malfunctioning' also. But I could be wrong about this, and since a (5V) 3A or 4A plug pack won't be much more expensive, perhaps you could just go for that. (There are tests you could do to see if the router's plug pack connector was wired directly to the USB port power lines, however that would involve having to pull the router apart and using a multimeter to test connections - not a simple process).

If you're in the US, I'd personally purchase a plug pack from Radio Shack, where I'm confident I would get a quality item.

Finally, your current power supply should have this logo on it, indicating that it has a connector with a centre-positive tip: (there's a 0.001% chance it won't).

If you get a supply with a reversible plug, (as stated in another post above) make sure it's on the right way (ie. + aligns with the word 'tip').